DeWitt Schools audit released

The audit covers the district’s “financial statements of each major governmental fund and the aggregate remaining fund information.”

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By Sarah Morrissmorris@stuttgartdailyleader.com

Stuttgart Daily Leader - Stuttgart, AR

By Sarah Morrissmorris@stuttgartdailyleader.com

Posted Apr. 5, 2013 at 3:21 PM
Updated Apr 5, 2013 at 3:23 PM

By Sarah Morrissmorris@stuttgartdailyleader.com

Posted Apr 5, 2013 at 3:21 PM
Updated Apr 5, 2013 at 3:23 PM

DEWITT

The Legislative Joint Audit Committee had two findings for the DeWitt School District after it released an audit in mid-March that covered the year ending June 30, 2012.

The audit covers the district’s “financial statements of each major governmental fund and the aggregate remaining fund information.” Superintendent Gary Wayman said the district’s Board of Directors would consider approving the audit during Tuesday night’s meeting.

One finding that came to auditors’ attention concerned property taxes. It was discussed with district officials during the audit fieldwork and at the exit conference.

“The District elected to accrue property taxes as allowed by Ark. Code Ann. § 6-20-401; however, the amount was understated by $118,496. The aforementioned error was corrected in the audited financial statements.”

The second finding was a deficiency in internal control over financial reporting, which means “the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct misstatements on a timely basis.”

The audit noted that the cause was due to “cost/benefit implications” that hindered the district’s ability to segregate financial duties. It recommended that the district adopt “sound” accounting policies as well as establish and maintain internal control for initiating, authorizing, recording, processing and reporting transactions that will safeguard the district’s assets.

“The District is continuing to work on segregating duties as much as possible with the limited number of office staff on hand,” it read.

Auditors also tested compliance with the state constitution, state and federal laws as well as other regulations, contracts and grant agreements that could have a direct and material affect on financial statement amounts. The results found no instances of noncompliance.